Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases 5,197,038 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 100,387.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,202,215 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,197,038 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company comprises approximately 2.3% of Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.55% of Eli Lilly and Company worth $4,016,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,089,563,000 after acquiring an additional 85,823 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,115,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,417,970,000 after acquiring an additional 157,741 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,058,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,481,175,000 after acquiring an additional 169,391 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,954,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,731,168,000 after buying an additional 12,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,553,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,199,217,000 after buying an additional 8,906 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LLY shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,000.28.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:LLY opened at $915.47 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $808.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $848.46. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $711.40 and a 52 week high of $972.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market cap of $868.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.18, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.24%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; Jardiance, Mounjaro, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes; and Zepbound for obesity.